Moore Campaign: Records Request 'Absolutely Political'

Raleigh, N.C. — The State Employees Association of North Carolina is continuing to pursue State Treasurer Richard Moore for information on the state retirement fund, a move the gubernatorial candidate's campaign called politically motivated.

SEANC last week made its second public records request in seven months for documents related to investments made by Moore with the $75 billion retirement fund. Moore provided the group with about 700 pages of information following a March request, but SEANC officials said it was filled with incomplete annual reports and a list of investment categories.

For more than a year, Moore has defended pension fund performance and conflict-of-interest concerns that he raises campaign money from people investing state employees money.

"We are one of the strongest pension funds in the country," he said in March. "All politicians raise money from the environment they're in."

SEANC wants to know where the retirement money of its 55,000 members is invested and who gets paid to make the decisions, said Erica Baldwin, the organization's assistant communications director.

"We got a lot of calls from members," Baldwin said. "The treasurer has been a champion of transparency on Wall Street. We're just asking for that same standard here at home in North Carolina."

"We're not trying to play politics," she said.

But Moore's campaign manager, Jay Reiff, called the records request "absolutely political," saying it was an attempt at "spreading misinformation to help (Lt. Gov.) Bev Perdue."

Perdue is Moore's main opponent for the Democratic nomination in next year's governor's race.

Moore's office said they would try to answer the records request as soon as possible.

"We don't hide anything," said Jennifer Cohen, Moore's deputy chief of staff. "I have no idea what the agendas are at play here."